School Newsletter Term 2, Week 2, April 29th 2021

Principals Letter

Dear St Augustine's families,

Welcome back to Term 2!

The children enjoyed extra play and breakfast on the first day as a welcome back to school. It was great to see all their smiling faces and the joy of reconnecting with their friends and teachers. It is such a blessing to be able to gather again  after the year of uncertainty that 2020 was. 

Thank you to those families who came out last Sunday to the Anzac Day March. It was lovely seeing our students and school involved in this important community event. Thank you to Kaleb and Charlotte who laid the wreath on our behalf. 

Anzac Day is the solemn day of remembrance of those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who have fought and died for their country, and is marked annually on the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War.

Lest we forget.

This week our Breakfast Program began again. Thank you to Caroline and Nicole for organising this for our children. There was lots of excited children and we had one little boy getting ready the night before so he didn't miss breakfast! This is a great opportunity for  our children to learn conversation, etiquette and social mealtime while just having  a great time together. A simple practice that we can take for granted.  Children can have breakfast at home and then a second breakfast at school. There are no restrictions around coming along and enjoying breakfast. 

We congratulate Kyra Wood and Jake Bucknall on their recent marriage together. Wishing them a lifetime of love and happiness. Kyra's wedding is the first of 3 weddings. We also congratulate Beth Van Rossum & Jesse Sardo and Chrissy James & Jayden Hooper on their engagements!

Families are invited to our Mothers Day Liturgy on Friday 7th May at 10.15am to 11.00am.

In accordance with COVID Safe practices we will have our liturgy in two locations. Flanagan/Fiscalini will be in the Gym and Scanlan/Arundell will be in the Church. After the liturgy we will have some Mothers Day activity options for you to spend some quality time with your child/ren in our outdoor spaces. These activities will include craft, reading or games located on the tar and gym areas.

You will be required to sign in using the QR Code on arrival. These codes will be found at the entry points. Entry will be through the playground gate for Flanagan/Fiscalini families to the gym.

Kars St and Marian Centre entry to the church for Scanlan/Arundell families. 

We look forward to seeing our families on this special occassion.

Many blessings,

Mrs Sonia Turner

Principal

My New Gallery

ENROLMENT

We are currently taking enrolment applications for 2022. If you have another child or know of someone who has a school age child for 2022, please contact the school.

An 'Application for Enrolment' form, as per link below, needs to be completed and emailed to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au.

Alternatively, forms are also available in the school office.

We will be contacting families in Term 3 when we commence the enrolment interview process. 

Happy Birthday to...

Nirenjan - Yr 4    Hamish - Yr 1   Tyson - Yr 6   

Evie - Yr 3   Connor Yr 2    Emiley - Yr 6 

 Ella - Yr 6    Liam - Yr 4   Dakoda - Yr F

Curriculum

Mother's Day Stall

PARENT HELPERS

Anyone wishing to help with the Mother's Day Stall will need to have a Working With Children card (WWC) and have contacted Bianca Anderson on 0417 335 888 prior to Tuesday . On the stall day all helpers will need to sign in through the school office and present their WWC then make their way to the Parish Hall where the stall will be run. 

STUDENTS

Teachers will take students to the stall in their class groups beginning with the Foundation children. The stall will also be open at recess time to make a second purchase if they wish. Students are encouraged to bring a shopping bag for their purchases. Gifts range between $1.50 to $8.  To enable all children to buy at least one gift we will limit first round purchases and then students can return at recess for further purchases.  

P & F Meeting 

Thank you to all who attended the meeting last Wednesday and we look forward to an exciting year ahead. the next meeting will be held on the 25th May 2021 at the Highland Society @ 7pm, all welcome!

We will be running a Pie Drive in the next couple of weeks as well as a Pizza Day later in the term, more details to come.

Forward Dates

P & F Meeting 25th May 

School Fair 22nd October 

P & F  Facebook Page

We encourage all families to join the P & F Facebook page.

Link: www.facebook.com/groups/429258047171256

Please note if your 'friend request' is rejected, please contact the school office. Sometimes we do not recognise who the requests are from so please do not be offended, we may just need some more info. 

STAR Students

At St Augustine's we are a SWPBIS school (School Wide Positive Behaviour in School) and we have a STAR culture. STAR stands for:

S  - stay safe

T  - take pride

A  - act justly

R  - respond positively

Just like children are explicitly taught academics, acceptable behaviour is also explicitly taught. STAR awards are given at Assembly each fortnight, exceptional STARs are sent a postcard which qualifies them to morning tea with the Principal at the end of the term.

STAR lessons are taught around a nominated behaviour blitz. Children are taught how to be a STAR in all places they go and what the acceptable behaviour looks like. Examples of a lessons: how to stay safe in class, in the library, the toilet, at the bus stop, on the playground or when walking to the swimming pool.

School Fees and Payment Information

Canteen

Canteen will be open every Friday. All orders must be placed through CDFPay by 9.30am each Friday. No cash is accepted.  Please see link below and instructions for setup.

CANTEEN ROSTER CHANGE
Due to the difficulties we continue to have with the roster system, we will not be using this system moving forward. We will now put out a call for helpers for canteen every Monday on Class Dojo. If you are able to assist, could you please contact Nicole Brittnell on 0429440696. We need a volunteer for the 10am timeslot and a volunteer for the 12.30pm timeslot each Friday. If you can help out it would be greatly appreciated.

All helpers will need to have a Volunteer or Employee Working With Children card. Volunteer cards are free. Click on the link below for applications.

Uniform Shop

Winter uniform changeover date is Week 5, Monday 17th May 2021. all children will need to be in full winter uniform from this date onwards.

We are continuing to have issues with uniform supply. The black sports track pants will be delayed until the end of June. Students can wear plain black track pants, preferably no logos or branding, until stock is received. 

Please make all uniform purchases through the CDFPay portal.

All orders will continue to be filled once a week and sent home with your child. If you have any uniform enquiries, please contact the school office.

Parish News

Please see link below for the latest Parish Bulletin.

PAM - Parent Access Module

We require families to complete and update their child/ren’s medical details and contact information through PAM as changes occur.  This information is mandatory and vital in the case of an emergency.   It is important that if you have any change to your contact numbers, including work place, mobile, home number, that these be updated through PAM.

To complete your child/rens medical profile including contact information, go to PAM, click on your child/rens name, go to 'Medical Profile' and click 'Edit Details'. Complete details then click in the box at the bottom of the page to confirm the details are correct and click ‘Update Details’.

If you have any questions or require your login details, please contact the school office.

COVID Guidlines

Student Illness & Absence

If your child is unwell please keep them at home.

This includes coughs, colds, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea and any other contagious illnesses.  

Coughs & Colds

Children can return to school once symptoms have eased and they are not actively coughing or blowing their nose.  

Vomitting & Diarrhea

Children can return to school 48 hours after the last episode.

We will send children home if they present with any of these symptoms whilst at school.

Notifying Absences

All absentee notifications should be recorded either through the Parent Access Module (PAM) or directly to the school office by phone or email to admin@samaryborough.catholic.edu.au prior to 9.30am on the day of the absence. Please do not send notes of absence through to classroom teachers on Class Dojo as they may be absent or unable to check messages prior to commencement of class. 

If a student is absent and we have not received any form of notification by 9.30am, a text message will be sent to parents asking them to call the office or send a reply text. 

Book Club

Issue 3 Book Club orders are due in by Monday 10th May 2021. All orders to be placed through LOOP. No cash orders accepted. 

Community Notices

Parking & Road Safety

There are three minute parking bays in Burke Street outside the school entrance.  Your co-operation in only parking in this area for the specified time would be appreciated.  These parking bays are for quick pick up and drop off for students leaving early due to appointments and illness.

Likewise we also ask parents to respect the parking restriction on the disabled parking area. 

Thank you for your co-operation.

Please observe road rules around our school for the safety of all of our children.

* Schools have 40km zone.

* Parking behind the church & tennis courts is STAFF ONLY parking.

* Please use the children's crossing on Burns, Kars St and Burke St.

* For safety purposes, please avoid letting your children exit or enter a car whilst on the road or stopped at the     crossings.

Bus Travel

Bus travel on the country buses is available for students at St Augustine’s School and arrangements are made through the bus co-ordinator at the Maryborough Education Centre on 5461 7900.  Parents of the student/s must organise the pass through MEC at least two days prior to travel. Students cannot travel on the country buses without a pass. The town bus does not require a pass but costs 50cents a trip, payable on the day of travel.  Please advise the office if your child will be travelling on any of the buses so we can update our bus rolls.

Advanced dates for your diary

School Closure Days - Staff PD

Tuesday 17th August 

Wednesday  17th November 

Children do not attend school on these days.